How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 138

Episode 138 – Hunt (1)

As I erged from the black veil and entered the dense forest, I paused for a mont to glance behind .

Under the faint moonlight, the forest's outline was vaguely visible. Parts of the woods were still shrouded by the dark barrier, making it hard to see. Looking at the ground, it seed as if the spread of the veil had halted.

It was clear I had escaped the Territory of the Dead, but I was curious to see how the Golden Doll Constructs would react outside of that dark domain.

[They won’t be affected much in places where darkness still lingers.]

“And under the moonlight?”

[There will be an effect. However, they’ll instinctively avoid the light while continuing to hunt their target. You won’t know when or where they’ll appear, so move before they surround you.]

“Is there any way other than fighting them?”

[There’s a way to destroy the key objects used in the ritual, but it’s not sothing I’d recomnd.]

I already knew that thod.

The problem was, I didn’t know what the ritual objects were, and I would have to return to that dark space to destroy them, which was close to impossible.

I asked if there were any other thods, but the answer I received was, Not with your current abilities.

A bizarre howl echoed throughout the forest. Were they already outside and moving?

Since they were bound to follow their target, it was only a matter of ti before this place beca dangerous as well.

I turned and started running.

Without conserving my stamina, my speed was terrifyingly fast.

I was trying to put as much distance as possible between and the Golden Doll Constructs, but the two people hanging on either side of my shoulders began to stir. Especially Karl, who had just regained consciousness, reacted quite violently.

“Are you out of your mind?! You knocked out...?!”

“I told you—you weren’t in any condition to keep running.”

“There were other ways!”

“You didn’t want to be carried, so I had to strap you up like this. Isn’t this better?”

“You weren’t like this before. What happened...?”

“Don’t I deserve so credit?”

“Lochter, you too?”

It seed both of them were uncomfortable hanging on my shoulders.

Couldn’t they at least consider how difficult it was for , carrying two grown n and running?

Still, it was better for them to endure a bit of discomfort and rest for now. Healing their wounds alone wasn’t enough. Both of them had been pushed to their limits after a prolonged period of being on the run, and they had narrowly survived nurous life-threatening battles.

If they kept pushing themselves in their current state, they might end up collapsing, which would be a disaster.

I knew from experience—once you reached a near-death state, you were utterly helpless.

Restoring stamina wasn’t sothing a potion could fully handle, so this was the best way to force them to recover.

It wasn’t entirely for their sake. It was also for mine.

Burst Strike.

It delivered astonishing results when unleashed, but it ca with a penalty—I could collapse at any mont. The aftereffects of using it were severe, so I needed a safeguard in place.

“The situation will only get tougher. Rest, even if it’s just for a little while.”

“Is there any way to deal with them?”

“If you’re asking about the Golden Doll Constructs, there’s no imdiate solution.”

“I appreciate the honesty, but that’s not very reassuring.”

Grrrrrr...

A faint, eerie presence spread around us.

It seed Karl, too, finally grasped the severity of the situation and began scanning his surroundings with a serious expression.

At least, with Karl’s keen sense of detecting danger, we wouldn’t be caught off guard by an ambush.

“Are we just going to keep running like this?”

“No. There are so enemies we need to deal with. Now is the only chance.”

“Here? Who?”

“The Blyer twins.”

At the ntion of Jack and Howell of Blyer, both of their faces stiffened.

They rembered how, from the mont they fled the Blyer territory, they had been relentlessly pursued by the twins, narrowly escaping death countless tis.

“Those bastards are nearby?”

“They’re currently engaged in a fight with one of my comrades. I need to hurry before it’s too late.”

I had assud Fenry could handle himself, but I had seen Howell retreating into the forest with a shaman earlier.

I couldn’t stop Howell because I was focused on rescuing Karl. If Howell had reunited with Jack, even Fenry, blessed by the King of Shadows, would find himself at a disadvantage.

When those twins fought together, their strength wasn’t rely additive—it multiplied several tis over.

At the ntion of a comrade, Karl’s expression grew urgent.

“Elton?! What happened to Elton?”

“He’s safe.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“It’s too early to thank . I rescued him, but I have no idea how things have changed over there since then.”

“Explain properly!”

While running, I quickly explained the situation.

Nella’s presence.

How I rescued Elton, called Fenry to keep Jack in check, and the fact that Howell would soon reunite with Jack.

“What do we do now?”

Lochter, who had been quietly listening, asked seriously, and Karl nodded heavily in agreent.

Hey, don’t stare at so intently from both sides of my shoulders. It’s unnerving.

Still, I didn’t dislike it.

After all, two Masters of Divine Power were now looking to for guidance.

“You’re asking ?”

“You’re the one who saved us. We have no choice but to follow your lead.”

“First, I need to know exactly what we have at our disposal.”

“...Our current combat strength, you an.”

At my words, Lochter and Karl began listing their remaining abilities. anwhile, I continued racing in the direction of Fenry’s aura, quickly piecing together the overall situation in my mind.

The Golden Doll Constructs trailing behind us.

The Blyer twins, Jack and Howell.

And the shamans and the Van Dyke puppet left behind.

Are the Golden Dolls another card played by the Mad Butcher?

Since they had been sent to capture us, it was clear Kal would take them into account in his plans. With the Mad Butcher coordinating indirectly through a communication sphere, the longer the confrontation dragged on, the worse it would get for us.

A swift resolution was our best bet.

“Timing is crucial.”

“Timing?”

“Yes.”

We were already in a defensive position.

But I wasn’t without options.

There was Fenry Chaser, a 5-star powerhouse, and Lochter Felice.

Plus, Elton and Karl Bastain, both 4-star warriors.

Most of them were in terrible condition and looked ready to collapse, but they were individuals who had made a na for themselves in the novel. Even when cornered, they weren’t the type to go down easily.

And neither was I.

With Nella, who seed skilled in healing, there was hope. As long as things went according to my plan, we might find a new path forward.

The only problem was dealing with any unexpected variables, but that was sothing I would address when the ti ca.

That’s what makes a variable a variable, after all.

“For now, let’s focus on what we can do.”

I summoned the Ring of Blood.

“We’re going to hunt down the twins.”

“Hunt?”

I began sharing the strategy that had taken shape in my head with Karl and Lochter.

“Is this our first ti working together as a hunting unit?”

Technically, I hadn’t yet gotten their agreent, but that didn’t matter. It was sothing I fully intended to make happen.

[Who’s the reinforcent for this hunt?]

“Fenry Chaser, the leader of the Black Rose.”

[That Dark Elf who showed up during the Blood Pact Ceremony?]

“Yes.”

The shaman riding the puppet observed the situation and reported back through the communication sphere.

It was the shaman who had followed Howell into the forest.

Shortly after, the sphere turned red, and Kal’s voice erged.

[So, the only reinforcent is that Dark Elf wench?]

“Yes, that’s all we can see at the mont.”

A blonde Dark Elf, wounded and staggering, was barely holding her ground, summoning shadows to fend off the Blyer twins’ fierce onslaught. There was no one visible helping her.

The scene made it seem as though the twins could easily finish her off.

But Kal thought differently.

[If she’s alone, there’s a high chance she’ll escape. If she tries to run, tell the twins not to pursue her. Instead, report back to imdiately.]

“Yes, sir.”

At that mont, a new voice ca through.

[What should we do? Please give us your orders, my lord.]

[Is Karl Bastain still being tracked?]

[We’ve been following his trail, but judging by the signs, it seems he has already left the territory.]

[And the core totem?]

[I have it in my possession.]

It was the voice of the shaman, Caspello.

Having successfully completed the ritual, the shamans were now protecting the core totem while pursuing Karl, the master of divine power. They were following the direction indicated by their lord, but it seed Karl had already fled far beyond their grasp—there was no longer any fresh trace of his presence. Even the once-nurous Golden Doll Constructs were nowhere to be seen, further solidifying their certainty that the target had left the territory.

[A full moon is out. If they escape the Territory of the Dead, things could get unpredictable. Join up with the twins… wait.]

A brief silence followed, then Kal’s voice returned, slightly quicker and more urgent.

[Relay an order to Jack and Howell—tell them to leave imdiately. Karl Bastain’s direction matches theirs.]

“…What?”

[Quickly!]

“Yes, yes, sir!”

Startled by the harsh command, the shaman hastily stowed away the communication sphere and urged the puppet he was riding to move faster.

Erging from his hiding spot in the dense forest, the shaman prepared to send a magical ssage to the twins from a distance.

He quietly began chanting the incantation when—

Ssssss—

“Huh…?”

A chilling wind swept in from above.

The shaman instinctively looked up, only to see a fiery red glow reflected in his wide eyes.

In the hands of a slender man, flas flickered atop a dagger.

Elton, the Fla Dagger.

Crack!

The dagger pierced the shaman’s face before he could even scream.

The mont it struck, flas consud the shaman’s head, reducing him to a blackened corpse that crumpled to the ground.

Elton deftly retrieved his dagger and swiftly leaped back.

Vhooom!

A massive fist swung down right where he had been standing.

Van Dyke’s puppet had identified him as a threat and launched an attack, but with the shaman dead, the puppet was rely a mindless construct.

Elton slid low across the ground, slicing the puppet’s ankle. As the construct stumbled, he jumped onto it and rcilessly plunged his dagger into its body over and over.

Papapapack!

Sparks exploded in all directions.

The puppet’s robe caught fire, and the enchanted cloth inscribed with runes that made up its body burned away, leaving nothing but ash.

Surveying the area, Elton walked over to the shaman’s corpse and crushed the communication sphere underfoot.

“You can co out now.”

At Elton’s words, Nella cautiously erged from behind a tree.

After scanning the surroundings briefly, she looked toward Fenry, then quickly handed a small bag to Elton.

Inside the bag was a waterskin filled with water from the Korun River.

“Please, help our master.”

Elton gave a slight nod before dashing toward the battlefield. In truth, Nella didn’t even need to ask.

He already had more than enough reason to kill them himself.

When Karl had blown the signal whistle, Elton had rushed to his aid but ended up surrounded by the Blyer twins and reduced to nothing more than their plaything.

Though he had been gravely wounded and humiliated, Nella had healed him, giving him a chance for revenge.

Clench—

As Elton channeled his 4-star aura throughout his body, he bit down hard on his lip.

Every movent brought searing pain, as if his entire body were being torn apart.

The Razor Wind blades, summoned by the twins, had left shallow cuts all over his body, and although Nella had treated the minor wounds, the deeper ones still bled.

The more blood he lost, the more pain he endured, and the greater his rage grew toward the twins.

Murderous intent flickered in Elton’s eyes as he raised his dagger.

You bastards! I’ll kill every last one of you!

“…You!”

“Howell!”

“Tch!”

Ka-ka-ka-kang!

As Elton charged in with his fla dagger aid at Howell, a red crow-shaped blade intercepted him, sparks flying upon impact.

With the twins’ coordinated assault montarily disrupted, Fenry seized the opportunity to swing her crow-like weapon at Jack with a fierce snarl. At the sa ti, her ruby belt shone, pouring magical energy into her attacks. In response, Banri, the summoned shadow creature, extracted black spikes from the shadows and launched them at the two brothers.

“You think you can get away with that?”

Jack’s Razor Wind shredded the shadow spikes instantly. The twin crow blades clashed repeatedly like thunderbolts, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession.

Amidst the chaotic battle, Jack gave Howell a signal.

“Worms! Just die already!”

After deflecting Elton’s fla dagger, Howell moved next to Jack, letting out a fierce battle cry as a gust of wind spread out from their position.

Sssshhh!

As her clothes began to corrode, Fenry hurriedly retreated and shouted,

“It’s poison! Stay back!”

Oxidation Poison.

It was a deadly toxin that Arthur had warned them about multiple tis, and despite the warnings, she had been caught by it on several occasions.

Carried by the wind, the poison had a set trajectory, and every ti she tried to evade it, the twins would strike her with a well-coordinated attack, leaving her wounded.

If even she, blessed by the King of Shadows, couldn’t completely avoid it, how could this man?

She worried for a brief mont, but then—

Elton hurled a waterskin into the air and sliced it open with his dagger.

Water droplets scattered everywhere, and as they did, green fus began to rise, dissolving the poison like foam.

“What… how?!”

Howell’s voice was filled with disbelief, but before he could process what had happened, Elton burst another waterskin.

Realizing that their poison was now useless, the twins exchanged glances and silently activated the power of their enchanted rings.

They couldn’t afford to leave Elton or that damned Dark Elf alive.

Jack’s ring glowed red, while Howell’s emitted a blue light.

These were ancient artifacts bestowed upon them by their master—one ring granted imnse strength, while the other enhanced their agility.

The twins assud a perfectly synchronized stance.

Jack wielded his crow blade on the left, Howell on the right. Together, they charged like lightning.

Their speed was incomparable to anything from before.

Fenry’s eyes widened in shock. This wasn’t a power Arthur had ever ntioned.

“Be careful—!”

Before she could finish her warning, the twin crow blades glead, vanishing in an instant.